SCHOLAR: ERRORS AND AMENDMENTS

ERRORS AND AMENDMENTS  

Error can be defined as “a deviation from accuracy or correctness” (Dictionary 2022).  Errors result because of various reasons and can manifest in documentation.  When errors manifest in documentation it can be a form of negligence.  With that said, negligence can be intentional or unintentional (Yates 2017).  To determine “negligence” in a document containing errors, the scenario of the production of that document must be looked at.  The reasonable and foreseeable test to negligence determines whether the “error” in the document in question is a tort.  For documents such as incident reports.  These often result from intense or unexpected events that occur in the work place.  In this, people are caught off guard and oftentimes people do not know how to react or they have not experienced the event before.  This can result in an error to the document.   

Amendments and appended versions of documents serve as a recourse by which to correct errors.  An amendment is a change to a word or few words within a document.  Amendments are created by putting a single line over the word in question and then initialing it, while putting the date of the day of the amendment was done.  When this is completed, the document becomes legally binding to that amendment.  Such is the case when an error in a cheque is corrected or any other formal document.   

Appended versions of documents however provide a means by which to correct structural errors within a document via multiple amendments which essentially results in the preceding appended document.  In US Congress, delegates have the ability to provide appended versions of bills before becoming law.  With consideration of the discipline of Law, the appended document is always supported by the initial document.  For example.  The Constitution of America was created.  The first amendment followed.  The first amendment was included in the appended version of the Constitution.  This results in a basis.  The Constitution is the basis and the and the amendments are extensions of that basis.  The basis of the aforesaid documents is that they are binding.  They give the government authority by which to exercise power over a group of people.  If a document is altered by adding new terms while keeping the previous terms it is referred to as an addendum.     

When a document is filled and signed, it becomes increasingly difficult to amend documents.  The individual is legally bound.  However, it is still possible to amend documents on the basis that everybody involved agrees (the amending formula).  There are also ways to amend documents based on circumstance.  As explained above documents can be amended if the person has experienced some form of extenuating circumstance.  This would not need an amending formula but rather the discretion of that whomsoever may be the authority.  Further, amendments can be done if it is discovered that a party acted against the law such as through duress this also does not need an amending formula but rather the judiciary who errs on the side of justice.  An amending formula is the way to guarantee that there are checks and balances.  In Constitutional studies amending formulas ensure that all involved parties get their equal say on a specific matter (Center for Constitutional Studies 2019).  In Canada, Constitutional changes can only occur if the general formula is applied.  In an organization amending formulas would consist of the manager, the supervisor and the employee depending on the info structure of the company.  

In the UK there are principles by which amendments are permitted by the courts.  Specifically, with regards to Litigation in the UK there are what are referred to as “Applications to Amend.”  There are some rules however, “refused if it is clear that the proposed amendment has no real prospect of success” and “reject an amendment seeking to raise a version of the facts of the case which is inherently implausible, self-contradictory or is not supported by contemporaneous documentation” and “an amendment is a matter for the discretion of the court” (Civil Litigation Brief 2015).   

With the above mentioned, it becomes clear that there are certain factors and variable before an amendment occurs and they are the following: There is an authority who exercises power, there is an amending formula, there is a scenario, there is documentation, and there is the document that needs to be amended to name a few.  Regardless when working in a professional setting there is always an “order” that comes before the production of a document.  The order (verbal or written) is based off of legislations or policy.  The “production of documents” means that individuals must provide a document in that they create and composit documents (Singapore Courts 2022).  Filing of documents means that the document is transmitted to an authority.  Exchange of documents means that the document is transmitted to others.  Sometimes documents can be engineered.  Engineered documents have a reason.  They seek to psychologically control the reader or influence the reader.  Some engineered documents serve to affect the individual in other ways however mainly it's to guide the individual to a line of thinking.   

Work Cited 

Singapore Courts.  2022).  Production of Documents.  Retrieved from:  https://www.judiciary.gov.sg/civil/civil-claims-(from-1-april-2022)/prepare-a-civil-case-for-trial-(from-1-april-2022)/production-of-documents-(from-1-april-2022) 

Civil Litigation Brief.  (2015).  Litigate in Haste.  Retrieved from:  http://www.civillitigationbrief.com/2015/03/26/litigate-in-haste-and-you-wont-necessarily-be-allowed-to-amend-at-leisure-su-ling-v-golman-sachs-international/ 

Center for Constitutional Studies.  (2019).  Amending Formula.  Retrieved from:  https://www.constitutionalstudies.ca/2019/07/amending-formula/ 

Yates, R., et al.  (2017).  Business Law in Canada.  Ontario, Canada.  Pearson.